Not Your Daddy’s Bee Emm
In just one months time at one Queen's Challenge, New Owl Custom Motors not only started a brand new luxury division, but popped out a new car
That odd, intoxicating, raspy sound of a Porsche Box 6 twin turbo fills the large shop with a mixed blend of enthusiasm and, unfortunately, sadness. Those of you who have read this magazine for as long as I’ve been writing, starting with my first article on why Ferrari loss at LeMans in Sixty Seven was a fluke to this months opening editorial on the best way to pick up a grey market car, and why we love them all, know full well that the only car I enjoy more than one of the Prancing Horses is a Stuttgart Shooter. The Porsche flat six twin turbo is an amazing motor, and the silver example, one of New Owl Customs newest toys for our national hobby, rolls by and brings me goose bumps. But I’m not here to mess with one of Hoot’s seven and eight hundred horsepower race cars he puts out on a regular basis.
No, instead I’m here because of one smart mouthed junior editor. By the way, once your done with this article, flip to page one seventeen to read about us testing Bowler’s claim, and dropping him off a cliff to see if he, and the car, would survive. Anyways, as you saw, our intrepid new editor, who still doesn’t realize that he is, in our hearts and minds, an intern till we hire a new one, made a challenge of sorts. After taking a few hundred thousand dollar super lux on a cross country cruise, he, in all his wisdom, said that Former First Speaker Thomas Gibbson, a.k.a. Hoot, could do it better. And Hoot, now the CEO and Chief Designer of Special Projects at New Owl Customs, took him up on that challenge.
For those of you who are unaware of what is possibly the most exclusive tuning house in Imitora, indulge me in granting you a history lesson. Back in the late eighties, a young, ambitious Marine by the name of Robert Fortier, and his squad mate and best friend Thomas Gibbson, opened a small aftermarket shop: Northampton Import Automotive Specialists. What started off as a small place that mostly worked on Chevrolet F-Bodies and Toyota Supras eventually became the place to get your car worked on. Everything from general bolt on upgrades to fully built race motors came out of NIAS, including one very special project: The Black Owl. One ultra rich Imitoran, who still is unknown to this day, commissioned NIAS to build a Twin Turboed McLaren F1 LM. After working for over a year and a half to strap two snails to the high revving BMW V12, Black Owl Customs was born. A performance coach builder, BOC specialized in one of super cars order to spec. However, with the unfortunate death of Robert on a military operation, BOC was shut down, only to open just two years ago with New Owl Customs, a venture started by Hoot to continue the legacy of Black Owl Customs. However, the Fortier legacy of auto tuning is still going strong with his son, Ryan, and Psychosis Motorsports.
New Owl Customs operates much like Gemballa, Pininfarina, and other sports coach builders. New Owl orders an unmarked chassis, and then build upon it to create their own special type of car. Motors are usually, but not always, based on existing architecture, with the occasional crate motor being used. Interiors, exteriors, and wheels are often custom units ordered from a very selective group of aftermarket providers. Ordering a New Owl Custom car is more than jut a purchase, its an experience that everyone should have at least once in their life.
But back to our original story. After meeting with Hoot and discussing the current operations of New Owl Customs, he shows me to the newest vehicle in the “fleet.” I print fleet in that way as New Owl has no fleet. There are no order or stock numbers, each vehicle he builds is custom spec, and construction doesn’t start until the order is placed, confirmed, and the buyer meets with Hoot personally to discuss the product order.
The Orion is the first attempt at an Ultra Lux by New Owl Customs, and like everything he does, it borders on top of the line. The chassis is a BMW E63 L frame, but extended a further two inches. Sheet metal is all done by AC Schnitzer, based on their ACS7 car, but with a few subtle changes. This in and of itself is reason to order one of these vehicles. See, its not just a body kit, but the entire body paneling was done by hand in order to accommodate the extra size. So you can say that your car was built entirely by hand.
From the outside, the car is positively beautiful. Say what you want about Banglization, but I personally find the flowing surfaces, accented by the AC Schnitzer stylists, to meld perfectly across the body. It has an almost organic look. This first production model, Orion 001 (a number which gives hint to how many he’ll personally allow built), sits on a set of custom twenty two inch iForged wheels with a polished silver lip, and a black chrome face. The silver painted body and liquid grey black wheels set the car out among the black and red Porsches and Ferraris around the shop. A sort of subdued elegance among performance. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the car does not perform.
We move to the hood, and as the cover is lifted, any on looker is treated with a work of pure art. The architecture of the motor is based on the N series BMW V12, but it ends its similarities with the shape and number of cylinders, and the sharing of many of BMW’s electronic motor control goodies, such as Valvetronic. The motor is built, not bored and stroked out, to 6.2L, giving it even more of a grunt of low end torque off the line, something that the heavy weight car could use. Curb side, the car comes in at just over two tons. However, the motor is not just powered by big bore. It also sports two medium sized Garrett turbochargers, spinning a moderate amount of boost. Each turbo is fitted to a bank of cylinders, offering more performance and efficiency than a sequential turbo set up. Further, the engine bay is lined with 24k Gold Foil, which reduces heat soak of the motor, and looks damned good. The engine and valve covers are carbon fiber with a New Owl Customs Logo, and a platinum plaque drilled into the center of the main engine cover. Each plaque is laser engraved with the build date, the production number, and Hoot’s signature.
I hate to say it folks, but car #007, a Corsa Rosa example with the performance package, has already been spoken for by a high ranking officer in the Imitoran Office of Naval Intelligence. And knowing half the nut jobs that live in our fine nation and have more money than they can handle, if Hoot allows enough to be built, I’m sure #666 will be spoken for as well.
Sliding into the car is easy, the two inches added on length wise are found amidships, not on the tail end. Each door has a full extra inch of length to easy into. This is where we see the real work come into play. The two front seats are Recaro luxury sport seats. Recaro is known for being the best in the biz when it comes to luxury sport seats, and these are no less than the best. The seat adjusts up and down, backwards and forwards, as well as the lower leg bolster, and the length of the seat itself can be extended by the forward leg support. The seat back also adjusts forwards and backwards, and the side bolsters adjust width as well. The head rest adjusts up and down as well as forward and backwards angles, and has small “wings” that adjust for neck support. If we add in the lumbar pressure and area support, we have seats that adjust eighteen separate ways. The leather used is supple beyond all imagination, and is offered in an unlimited array of color combinations, such as dual tone seat and centers, custom embroidery, and specific materials. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention: the seats (both front and back) not only have a built in massage device, but are both heated and cooled.
Full car controls are done from a control device on the center console, but it is far more intuitive than the enthusiastic, but less annoyingly difficult, than BMW’s Standard iDrive. It looks like Hoot took example from the KISS book, and the radio controls, navigation controls, and phone controls have all been removed from the center controller. Instead, only the climate controls and car settings are handled, and even then, a redundant set of controls are mounted on the center dash for AC. The car comes with a state of the art quad zone climate control set up, allowing each passenger to be full immersed in their preferred climate.
The real interior treat comes from the sound system. Finding nothing on the market that suited his taste, Hoot worked closely with engineers in many companies and fields to develop a unique, full custom sound system. An on board computer uses RDS, Satellite Feeds, MP3 filing, CD readers, and other advanced audio technology to “listen” to each song before it is played, recognizes the volume the song is being played, and adjusted equalization appropriately. This entire process takes milliseconds at worst. This means that if your out in the country with that hot little piece you picked up at the club, your copy of Bill Withers’ Use Me will sound just as perfect as it could be. And the same goes for when you’re out embarrassing supposed sports cars with the turbo V12 and blaring some good rock. More on that shortly.
The rest of the interior is done in standard ultra lux fare: both front and rear seat entertainment centers that can play radio, satellite radio, mp3, and both HD-DVD and Blu Ray DVD. An optional travel entertainment package offers your choice of PS3 or Xbox 360 mounts in the back seat. As stated before, the seats are amazingly perfect, and there is plenty of room in the back to lay out and spread, and fold out trays offer a steady place to eat. Of course, anyone who would allow anyone to eat in this car should be shot. But drinking is acceptable in my book, and stain resistant carpeting and leather surfaces tempt owners to make good use of the in cabin Champaign coolers that hold not only your favorite brand, but two magnums as well. Trim is one of three styles: carbon fiber, blued titanium, or wood. Your choice of wood is used, and each trim piece is cut from the same tree to minimize imperfections in the mold. The headliner is brushed alacantra, again in a color of your choosing.
However, the real test is the road manners. Upon taking my first glance at the engine, I questioned Hoot’s idea. I mean, yes, 98% of Imitoran care about performance over all, but a high power twin turboed twelve? I would find myself wrong.
The first thing you notice about starting up the Orion is the almost lack of motor noise. There is no bark then roar, no crack of the motor cranking up. No, just a simple brief starter motor wine, and then an intoxicating burble of twelve cylinders, two turbos, and six point two liters emptying down a custom stainless steel exhaust system. It mixes the best of Ferrari, BMW, and Mercedes together, and leaves out the nasty parts. But inside the cabin, thanks to liberal use of sound deadening equipment, the ride is perfectly quiet, and the 6.2L mill is almost non existent. That is, of course, till you get it on the road.
The biturbo set up has little to no lag, and this is perfect for city driving. Baffles in the engine bay prevent any of the usual noise of turbo systems annoying the driver or other near by cars. The sound of vented or recirculated boost is non existent, and the whine of twin turbines spooling up is subdued. Off the lights, the car is smooth, and the auto tranny shifts nicely. Gear changes are firm and sporty, as expected from an Imitoran built car, but not abrupt to disturb the driver or passengers. Still, I would think them to be a bit softer in a Ultra Luxury, maybe a bit looser to transition changes softer.
On the highway, it all comes together perfectly. At hard acceleration, there is but the muffled roar of the motor pulling the car forward, and the paddle shifters are real paddles, not buttons akin to the majority of semi auto cars. The transmission itself is a first run production DSG from Getrag, and the firm’s reputation for some of the best transmissions around still holds. Road noise is non existent, and even over the minute number of bumpy highways in Imitora, the ride is smooth.
The sporty suspension set up, all custom equipment from Dinan, is a bit firm for a car like this, and would be more at home on a sports car. However, it isn’t too firm to the point of discomfort, but maybe something a bit more Maybach like would have been appreciated. However, it is perfectly at home on twisty mountain ranges and back roads, where we find the mannerism of this car in an odd limbo. The car feels as light and nimble as an FC RX-7, the bulk of the vehicle never coming into play. It never once looses the luxury and exclusive feeling as you apex a down hill 180, pulling away from that kid in the Cayman trying to run you down in the passes. Remember how I said we would talk about using your ultra lux to embarrass some real sports cars? There was also that Shelby GT500 that we pulled away from on the highway, while my wife sat shot gun reading a news paper, and in the back seat our daughter and her newest love interest sipped some of the finer Champaign available. And none of them knew that the Shelby was even there.
And this is what you get when you purchase a New Owl Custom: An experience. You are flown to Imitora to meet one on one with Hoot, and discuss every facet of the car. When it comes time to pick up your new set of wheels, you are again flown in, shown the car, and even get a some track time with it to really learn what you have. It is then shipped back to your nation (assuming you bought out of nation) at the expense of New Owl, and is supplied with all the needed accoutrement. In the Orion’s case, that includes a bottle of your choice of Champaign, and as with any New Owl Custom, a full portfolio of information detailing the vehicle’s build, performance numbers, sourcing for parts, and the like. And New Owl Customs is possibly the only aftermarket and custom coach builder to offer 24/7/365 assistance.
Hoot has stated that not only will a “performance” model with a remapped ECU, less restrictive exhaust, and a bit of weight loss be available, but also a full security package. Pricing isn’t listed, but that doesn’t matter much. You know the old saying about asking. And as with all New Owl Customs, military veterans are offered discounted pricing.
I found myself oddly reluctant to hand the keys of the car back to Hoot. For once, I saw my F430 as something of a child’s toy, something plane and ordinary. Hoot really did build something amazing here, and I’m glad I got the chance to drive it. I even found it pleasing that the same shop that did the motor build on my F430 and helped restore an F40 managed to build something like this. Something that can smoke the tires with ease, yet also bring your to your destination in a sort of elegance that not even some of the other uber lux’s can attain. Well played Hoot, well played.
Vehicle: New Owl Customs Orion
Performance: 0-60 in 4.1; 1/4mile in 11.15@122mph; Top speed of 216mph
Pros: Bigger than big; fun to drive; luxury at a new level; amazing buying experience; no fault in the voice activated navigation
Cons: A hint to sporty for a super luxury car; “Have to ask, can’t afford” pricing; No way to turn off the “ninnies” (Traction Control, Stability Control), no manual transmission offering
Final Verdict: Hurry up and buy one now before Gibbson stops building them…nobody knows how many will be built.
Written by Rodney Love, Chief Editor and Director of Vehicle Receiving Coordination